While Beauty of a Monster is elegantly written, there was something about it's momentum that drove me nuts. Maybe I'm an impatient reader, but I wanted this book to move it along and give me some answers. Pronto.

"josephine Bell. I Love you. I'm just too dangerous to keep you."

The crux of this entire love story. There is something he's keeping from her, the entire house knows it, her father knows it, yet nobody tells her. Nobody. They are all lucky she isn't the nag that I am, because I would be asking constantly, not letting things lie like she did.

Joey has taken over her father's position at the manor of Mr. William Marshall-Croft. Her father has worked there for Joey's entire life and now it's her turn to take care of him. She knew it wouldn't be easy filling her father's shoes, but she has no choice.

While the man of the house may not want the beautiful Joey there, the rest of the staff seems to think she'd be a good fit, for reasons we aren't told. So much dancing around the real story here. We get clues every so often about what happened in the past, however not enough to placate me and make the way Will treats Joey ok in my mind.

The book was well written and a bit wordy for my taste. Plus, it felt like we were in to different centuries with the manor and the way it was run, the way the help talked, so proper and old English, yet in the next sentence we're discussing laptops. I found that hard to comprehend. That said, I did find myself interested in the story of Will and Joey and do want to see what happens with them next, as we are left on the edge of a cliff for now...

Will’s words flew through the air as fast as the snowball had soared, and the second Joey recognized the serious tone that accompanied them, she froze, panic in her eyes as she realized Will was between her and the safety of the house. Her only other option was to run off into the darkness of the grounds, and there was no chance of that happening. A split second decision had her hauling arse towards the corner of the building, hoping to God she could get past him fast enough.

The moment she set off running, Will stepped to the side and reached out his arm in an attempt to grab her, but she was too fast. Her nimble frame dodged and twisted to the side leaving his fingers grasping at nothing but thin air. Annoyance had him turning around, his arms lifting into the air and his hands clasping on top of his head, his eyes closing.

Only a moment slipped by, though, before his stubbornness took a hold of him and he in turn set off running, watching as her tiny body disappeared around the corner, an extreme feeling of Deja vu filling his mind.

Why was he always chasing her?

A strange rush of adrenaline surged through him as his wide strides found him at the door only a second or two behind her, and the jingle of female laughter, laced with playful fear, wafted through the gap and into the winter air sending a tingle of undefined lust down his spine.

Goddamn her.

About Eleanor
Lloyd-Jones

Raised in a little village in North Wales, a fierce love of
books and reading was instilled in me by my parents from a very early age, and
I have vivid memories of reading secretly under the blankets with a torch for
hours after lights out, often getting caught! I was blown away by The Borribles
Trilogy - Michael De Larrabeiti at nine years old, and it was then that I fell
head over heels with the idea of imaginary worlds.

A persistent and professional daydreamer, something I still pride myself on
being, I spent most of my early childhood inside my own head making up stories
or scenarios, climbing trees, building dens or doing anything 'arts and
crafts'.

​Music also played a huge part of my young life. Growing up on The Beatles, U2
and Status Quo, my obsession with Top of the Pops and vinyl twelve inches grew
into a love affair with music that has only expanded over time: there is rarely
a moment where music is not playing in my life, and in turn, rarely a time when
I am not singing, even if it is only in my head!

I had always thought I would write a book someday—it has been an ambition for
as long as I can remember—and I have always been told that I ‘have a way with
words’. Over the years, I've dabbled in the odd piece of prose, helped friends
to write letters and résumés and I pride myself on her hilarious lyrical genius
when composing poems for friends' birthdays! ;)

Life, however, got in the way and my dream was stored on the back burner as I
put myself through university and started a family. It was only when
I was nearing the ‘forty’ milestone that I decided it was time I got some of
the ramblings and chatterings in my head down on paper.

A creative mum of one boisterous boy, I class myself as a Yorkshire gal now
after moving to Leeds when I was eleven. I work full time as a teacher, but I
grab every spare minute I can to write, be it on the train to work or by
foregoing sleep for an extra hour or two in the evenings.

My hope for the future is for people to fall in love with my characters as much
as I do. Not a big ask really!

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About Katie Fox

Katie Fox was born in Florida and raised in Pennsylvania, where she still resides with her gamer husband and four-year-old son. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she is a sucker for a good love story. When not found with her nose buried in a book, she's usually spending time with her family or in her writing cave, giving life to the voices in her head.